TD bank land deal closes

It’s official. The TD Bank deal has closed.
The property is now in possession of Creemore Community Foundation, said director Stuart Lazier. The Foundation secured the donation of the Mill Street bank, which was shuttered in May 2018. Through a yearlong process, which involved arduous public consultation, a plan for the creation of a programmed Village Green emerged.
Lazier said the deal closed Nov. 29 and a demolition permit is in the process of being filed. The build team is also in the process of securing a contractor to remove the building, but an exact timeline is not known.
The land won’t be transferred to the municipality until the construction work is done. As per a 20-year agreement with the Township of Clearview, which has yet to be finalized, the Foundation has permission to incorporate the horticultural park and a position of Station on the Green lands into the Village Green design.
Many of the plants and some trees have been transferred to garden beds behind the Creemore library with the intention of incorporating them into the new Village Green garden beds.
“We’re now trying to make decisions and come up with the final design,” said Lazier.
He said they are into the detailed decision making about how much seating, where to put it, where to locate the water station, how to incorporate bikes, the canopy design, and the staging and sound.
“We’re going through every single component of the design as we speak,” said Lazier.
Once there is a final design, it will be shared with the community.
“I think people are curious as to what the design will be so from our perspective we want to make sure we respect the consultation process,” said Lazier.
Comments and questions are welcome. Contact sass.dempsey@gmail.com.